Thursday, December 24, 2009

The genealogy of this branch of the Kephart family dates back to the emigrant parent, John George Kephart, born about 1720, arrived in Philadelphia, October 21, 1754 on the ship, Ban[n]ister, (Record of arrival, Penn. Archives, Vol. 17, Second Series) whose home appears to have been in the southern part of Germany, in [the] political division of Freyburg in Odenwald, or the timber district not far from Swiss border.

His wife's name was Elizabeth. They lived in Berks County near Reading, PA. Their children so far as known were Adam, Daniel, Henry, Caleb, and John.

The man Henry was born about 1747 which indicates he was foreign born. His wife's name is not known. They were thought to have lived in Lancaster Co., PA where a couple of his boys were born. The father, Henry Kephart, died when these boys were six or eight years old.

One of the boys named Henry Kephart, Jr. was a direct parent of the following Kephart family and grandfather of the biographer [James Kephart].

The second boy, brother to Henry Kephart, Jr. was named Caleb. His wife's name was Bennett [Peninnah Benner] - they had three boys, Philip, Mulland and Benner. They lived in the vicinity of Reading, PA.

Henry Kephart Jr. was born in 1771. His wife's name was Elizabeth Epley, daughter of Conrad Epley of Chester Co., PA. He lived for several years with his family in Plum Forge near Phillipsburg, PA. There were seven boys and eleven girls in the family. The biography of these boys and four of the girls are given here, all that is known of them, all natives of PA.

Henry Kephart, Jr. came to Dubuque, Iowa, presumably with his son Naugle Kephart or his son-in-law Richard Plum, husband of Catherine in 1838 where he remained until his death.

The wife and mother, Elizabeth Epley Kephart, died in the home of her son, Jacob, in Dubuque Co. either in 1849 or 1850. They were all buried in Dubuque, but later moved to the M. E. Cemetery at Cottage Hill about thirty miles west of Dubuque on what in early days was known as the Dubuque and Colesburg road.

The record of the family of girls:

Mary Ann - unmarried, died in Dubuque and was buried with her parents.

Sarah - married William Hammond of Holidaysburg, PA, was born 1811.

Catherine - thought to have been born near Philipsburg, PA. Became [the] wife of Richard Plum, who was born in North Wales in 1811. He enlisted in Sept. 1862 in the 37th Graybeards Iowa Infantry [and] was discharged April 28, 1864. Catherine died in Dubuque Co., March 6, 1900. One son, Edward O. Plum, became a doctor. He was a soldier in [the] 6th Iowa Cavalry. He died in Chicago in 1915.

Of the family of boys:

Conrad - was born in Lancaster, PA, 1795, [and] baptized December 10, 1795 in St. James Church. His wife's name was Rebecca. They moved to Dubuque in 1849 and lived on a farm twenty-five miles west of Dubuque, in what was known as Cottage Hill. They raised a numerous family of boys and girls. Two of the boys, Jacob and Conrad served in the Union Army, 21st Iowa Infantry. Conrad was killed in May 1863 during the battle [siege] of Vicksburg.

Henry G. - was born in Huntingdon Co., PA in 1804 at a place known as Barre Forge. He married Margaret Burdine. They came to Dubuque, Iowa in 1849. He was a blacksmith. He built a home and shop on [the] main road between Dubuque and Colesburg on what is known as Bald Ridge a few miles north of Cottage Hill Church. They raised a family of eight boys and one girl. Three of these boys served in Union Army during War of the Rebellion - William and John in [the] 5th Iowa Cavalry. John was wounded at Gravely Springs near Muscle Shoals. Caleb was killed [died of dysentery] at New Orleans July 28, 1864. Henry’s wife died in 1862 and was buried in [the] Cottage Hill Cemetery. In later years Henry lived with his son in Clarksville, Iowa where he died at a very great age. It was said he lived more than a hundred years. He worked at the blacksmith forge for over 70 years and is buried in Clarksville, IA.

Caleb - twin brother to Henry G. His wife's name was Jane. They came to Dubuque at same time as his twin brother. One son named Samuel served in Union Army. He was believed to have been in [the] 38th Iowa Infantry. Caleb moved back to PA some years after [the] close of war where he settled and died. The place and dates are not known.

Essington - was born in Huntingdon Co., PA in 1807. His wife's name was Mary A. Neese [Meiss]. They were married in 1827 and went to Venango Co. PA. the same year. One son George was killed by lightning on July 8, 1869. [They had] two daughters, one of whom married an attorney named Myers in Franklin, PA. Essington's home was always near Franklin, PA.

Jacob - his wife's name was Jane O’Neil. He was born May 27, 1809. They lived in Venango Co. PA. He embarked at Emlinton, PA with his family consisting of two daughters and two sons, Conrad and James. They arrived in Dubuque, IA April 1848. These boys both served in [the] Union Army - Conrad in [the] 8th Iowa Cavalry. He was captured on McCook raid south of Atlanta in 1864. He was held in various prisons including Andersonville for seven months. He made his escape and reached Union lines at Willmington. James served in [the] 13th U.S. Infantry, was awarded a Medal of Honor by [the] U.S. Congress for gallantry at Vicksburg, May 19, 1863 in action on assault of rebel work. Jacob's wife died in Epworth, IA and he died in Plymouth, IN and was buried there.

John D. - The place of his birth [is] not know[n], the year 1819. His wife's name was Sarah. John D. enlisted in 21st Iowa Infantry August 1862. He was mustered out with his regiment at Baton Rouge July 15, 1865. He was 43 years of age at his enlistment and was noted by his commander as a model soldier. Their family was two girls and two boys, John and Theodore. His wife died early in the sixties and was buried in Cottage Hill. John D. remarried and moved to [the] western part of state. The record of his death is not known.

Naugle - was born February 1, 1798 in Huntingdon Co. PA. His wife's name was Susan Jones who was born December 11, 1803 in Wales. They came to Dubuque, IA in 1838, [they] came by water, taking three weeks to make the trip. He was a farmer and they lived on a farm he pre-empted near Cottage Hill, IA, where they remained until their deaths. Their family consists of seven girls and three boys. The parents died, the father in 1885 and mother in 1886 and are buried in M. E. Cemetery, Cottage Hill.

Catherine - was born August 8, 1822 in PA. When a small girl her parents moved from Center Co., PA. Catherine was married to James McElhany. They always lived in PA. Catherine only made a few trips back to visit her relatives. James McElhany died in 1895 [26 Jun 1897]. Catherine died October 8, 1916 [1918] at her home in Pittsburg. She was survived by seven children.

Mary Ann - married a man by [the] name of Rebmans [Rebman]. Their children as known are Henry, Minnie, Frank, August, Gertrude, [and] Estelle. I find it difficult to find any trace of these older children.

Henry - Henry's wife's name has been forgotten. The only children that can be remembered are Laura, Safrona, Frank, [and] August. These aged relations have made a few trips back to Dubuque, Iowa to visit their brothers and sisters. As time went on we have lost track of them.

Elizabeth - was born November 14, 1830 in PA. She came with her parents to Cottage Hill, IA in 1838. She married William Glew in 1838. William was born November 7, 1818. They moved from Cottage Hill to Epworth in 1899 and resided there until their deaths. They had seven children:

Margaret - married George Shirk in [the] 1850s. They had four children, three of them died in infancy. The name of one girl was Ella. She was raised by her grandmother Kephart after [the] death of her mother was very sudden. Ella died when she was about twenty years old. George Shirk remarried Marietta. George was later drowned in mill race.

Sarah - was born June 25, 1836. She was three years of age when her parents brought her to Cottage Hill, IA. They went to Pittsburg and down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi to Dubuque, IA, taking three weeks to make the trip. They settled at Cottage Hill ,where she remained until she reached womanhood. She married Francis Marion Allen February 8, 1866. He was born July 11, 1837. They remained at Cottage Hill until after Adah was born. They moved to Princeton, IL, and were there eight years where Catherine, Anna, Robert, and Elizabeth were born. They moved back to Pin Oak, IA where Francis, Margaretta, and Gertrude were born. They later moved to Farley, IA where they remained until their deaths.

Milton - was born at Cottage Hill, IA, December 1, 1839. He married Margaret Mettler in 1859. She was born in Switzerland, December 7, 1839. They left Cottage Hill about 1870 and went to Garnavillo, Clayton Co., IA. They left Clayton Co. in May 1899 and moved to Spirit Lake, IA. They then moved to MN in 1887 and settled in Jackson Co. [They] moved to Lakefield, MN in 1908. They had eleven children:

Elmore died August 11, 1913. Milton died January 16, 1926, the father died February 18. 1933.

Alford - was born in Cottage Hill, IA. July 25. 1842. He served in [the] 21st Infantry during [the] Civil War. He married Mary Meyers of Pin Oak, IA, December 26, 1867. She was born in Dubuque Co., June 3, 1849. Mr. Kephart and family moved to Jackson Co., MN in [the] fall of 1883 and remained in that county. They resided at Loon Lake for nearly twenty years then moved to Lakefield, MN. Their children:

Bertha, born April 23, 1869. m. Gene Palmer.
Lottie, born March 9. 1871, m. George Blakey.
William, born February 13, 1873.
Levi, born June 10, 1876, m. Carrie Brown.
Della, born October 22, 1878, m. Roscoe Brown.
Roscoe, born March 13, 1881, m. Clara Vilmo.
Ella, born March 1, 1886, m. Earn Pearson.
Earl, born April 15, 1888, m. Clara Rost.
Mae, born January 21, 1891, m. R. R. Rost.
George W., born in 1883 and died same year.
Alfred B., born in 1893 and died in 1897.
LeRoy, also died in infancy.

A. B. Kephart died December 20, 1921 and Mary Kephart died August 28, 1936.

Lavina - married Robert McIntosh. He was a carpenter. They lived at Cottage Hill, IA. They had two children. James was about 20 years at the time of his death - he was drowned in Okoboji. Lelia died when she was 2 or 3 months. Lavina died a heart rendering and sudden death in 1875. Her husband went to Canada after her death.

Emma Francis - was born at Cottage Hill, IA on March 14. 1848. She married William Meyers [on] April 20, 1865. They left Cottage Hill and moved to a farm two miles south of Manchester, IA. In 1897 they moved to Manchester and lived there until her death. Their children:

Emma died February 25, 1932. William died December 29 and mother died March 4, 1933.

The Kephart Family Record

The biographers of this sketch of Kephart family secured their information through the War Department of Washington, DC, some friends, obituaries, relatives either by mothers, sisters or children of their family, some of whom are very aged. We believe it is as near correct as possible under conditions secured.

We gladly credit [the] Honorable C. I. Kephart of Washington, DC. Also James Kephart of Gooding, Idaho for the first (seven) pages of biography.

The children[’s] names and dates of their birth have been added to the Naugle Kephart family by [the] composer of [the] rest of [the] biography. We will gladly receive any name and date of a relative whether marriage, birth, or death. Our desire is to keep this record up to date. We have gathered this information for benefit of our coming generations.

I am very grateful and I sincerely thank everyone who has helped us with our record.

Francis Marion Armstrong

Hand copied by Edna Allen, 11 Nov 1977.
Typed by Verla Williams, 14 Apr 1994, from a hand-written copy of the KEPHART family history done probably in the late 1930s.
Scanned and edited by Mark D. Williams, 29 Nov 2009. Edits are in brackets [ ].
See corrections made in the comments.

2
comments:

In an email dated 2 Feb 2011, correspondent Denise (Stocks) Boudreau noted that Elizabeth and William Glew's children, "Della married William H. Stocks (not Stacks) and Margaret married Tom Stocks (not Stacks). William H. Stocks was my great-grandfather, his son Asa was my grandfather and my father was Walter."